


Mad

by Askeebe



Series: Never Let Me Go [11]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Losing isn't always bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 11:44:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4605474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Askeebe/pseuds/Askeebe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a mission goes sideways, Shepard needs to blow off some steam.  Thane offers a sparring match and a prize she can't pass up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mad

The mission was a failure. Shepard wasn't sure who she was pissed at more: herself or Jack. She thought it would be good to bring Jack along and give her some more experience in teamwork as well as get her off the ship before she broke something (or someone) else. Most days, she welcomed the random opportunities EDI found to take out the stray merc base. She had to do something to keep the fighters on her ship busy. Let them spend too many days cooped up on the Normandy and bad things started to happen. The worst ones were Jack and Grunt. Mordin and Tali were perfectly content to stay aboard the Normandy and do their work in peace and quiet. The others needed to get out and play, though.

So when EDI announced that they'd found a merc base that was distributing red sand, Shepard thought it sounded like an excellent opportunity for the crew to blow off some steam. She'd brought Jack, Zaeed, and Jacob with her. It was a tight fit in the Hammerhead, but no one minded.

At first, it was going great. They were acting like a team, even Jack. Then they got inside and discovered the mercs were setting up a meet with the Blue Suns to discuss territory. Zaeed insisted on data mining it to look for information on Vido, but more mercs were coming in. Jack was tossing oversized biotic charges carelessly around the room, and when she fried the comm system, Zaeed went crazy. Calling her a goddamned fucking cunt who couldn't follow an order if it was as simple as pull her head out of her own goddamned ass. He followed it up by shooting his rifle at her, deliberately just missing her head. More shouting, more biotics, more gunfire, and Jack had flounced off on her own deeper into the base.

Things really went to hell when they followed, only to find that Jack's biotics had busted open half the containers of red sand in the warehouse. The air was thick with it, and mercs were pouring out of every doorway. Jack's already impressive biotics were frightening as she tossed mercs, crates and heavy equipment against the walls with casual ease. Shepard yelled at Jacob to stay back with her and Zaeed so they could pick off the mercs from a distance. Jacob didn't have a sniper rifle, so she sent him off to find the air handler controls and try and clear the room.

He'd gotten too close to the red sand dust, and it made him careless. Not as bad as Jack, but he wasn't as strong as her, either. Hell, Shepard wasn't even sure Samara could take Jack right now.

With all the chaos and bullets flying through the air, it would have been a miracle if someone didn't get shot, and Shepard was all out of miracles today. Jacob took a bullet to his thigh and another to his shoulder before he managed to get to cover.

In the end, Shepard and Zaeed had to settle for covering Jacob while Jack absolutely destroyed the place until nothing was left intact but the reinforced outer habitat walls. Even then, they had to wait another half hour until Jack calmed down enough to get her back to the Hammerhead. Shepard was furious. She didn't trust herself not to throttle Jack if the tiny woman said anything to her, so she put Jack in the back and in charge of checking on Jacob's medigel. Zaeed might have been a better choice with his combat background, but she needed Jack quiet and out of her sight. Besides, there was always the remote possibility that Jack would feel some remorse for being the cause of Jacob's injuries, or so Shepard hoped.

They might have shut down the merc base, but she had one squad member in medbay, another who was in a snit about losing intel on his target, and another that she wasn't sure she could trust.

After the mission, she changed out of her armor and into workout clothes. Jack would probably be out for a day after all the heavy biotic use, especially when enhanced by red sand. But as a consequence, Shepard had barely had to do anything. She'd gotten a decent dose of red sand herself, and really, it would have been impossible not to breathe some in with as much as was in the air, and now her nerves were twitchy and making her irritable.

She headed back down to the hangar bay where their makeshift gym had been located. There were a couple of crew down there, but they left shortly after she got there. She had a feeling it was the constant scowling and dark energy flickering over her skin. The red sand was causing her biotics to swell out beyond her control. Probably better that she be by herself for a while.

She thought about the punching bag, her usual favorite for draining excess energy, but she was too restless with the red sand coursing through her body. She hadn't gotten a big enough dose to go crazy like Jack had, but it wouldn't let her settle down. Well, maybe she'd just practice her biotics, she thought to herself. Hard to do without a partner, but not impossible.

She moved into the specially shielded room her greasemonkeys had designed for the biotics in her crew early on, and for a while she lost herself in the basic biotic training exercises of lifting boxes and stacking them neatly. It took considerable control to build a tower to the top of the room, and she was sweating by the time she was finished. She also realized she wasn't alone anymore. "Thane, you're slipping. You didn't scare the hell out of me like you usually do."

She looked back over her shoulder to see the slim drell sitting cross-legged on a stack of crates. The door was in her line of sight the whole time and she knew it hadn't opened. She looked up at the ceiling and back at the drell. She hadn't thought he could fit through the ceiling vents, but apparently, she was wrong.

"I did not wish to interrupt your meditation, siha," he said gravely.

Meditation? Huh. She guessed it was something like that for her. With a nod, she stalked over to where he sat. "You heard?"

He knew what she meant and inclined his head. "Mr. Taylor is recovering in medbay."

"Jack?"

"Sleeping in her den."

"You checked?"

For the first time, the assassin allowed himself a small smile. It was the only answer he gave.

"Are there any vents in the Normandy you can't get through?" she asked in exasperation.

His smile faded. "Are you angry, siha?"

She threw the towel down. "No. Yes. Not at you, Thane. Jack. Myself." She gave a wordless growl and her biotics lit up her skin as she flung the carefully stacked crates into disarray against the far end of the room.

Thane jumped soundlessly down from the crates and ran his cool hand over her shoulder. Normally she would appreciate his touch, but today she just felt restless, like there were ants crawling all over her body. His tender touch just aggravated the feeling and she pushed his hand off and turned away. "Siha!" Thane's voice was concerned, another thing she didn't need.

"I'm fine, Thane." She bit off each word angrily. They both knew she wasn't.

"Shepard, stop the recriminations. You know better than most that not every mission will go according to plan."

His deliberate use of her name stopped her.

"I know that, Thane. But this should have been an easy one. Walk in, do the job, walk out. It went to shit because my team can't work together. What's going to happen when we go through the Omega 4 relay? Can I rely on Jack to follow orders? Or Zaeed not to make things worse? Christ!" She blew the crates around again just to relieve the anxiety. "Right now, I just want to forget I'm in charge and blow things up. I'm tired of always being the responsible one," she grumbled.

Thane chuckled darkly. "If that's all you need, I propose a wager." He waited. Damn him. He knew she wouldn't be able to resist.

"Of what?" she wanted to know.

Thane's lips twitched. "A sparring match. The loser does anything the winner wants." Shepard had finally learned to read his subtle drell expressions, and he was in a rare mood today. Playful and sensual, and she got a sudden case of goose bumps imagining him pressed against her, holding her hands up against the wall, his tongue plundering her mouth. He was usually so calm and serene; even when they made love he was a gentle and considerate lover. He had always refused when she urged him to be more aggressive, stating that he didn't want to hurt her with his greater strength.

Her mind darted back and forth, unsettled by the red sand still present in her system, as she searched for a way to draw him out. She wanted to see more of this side of him. "I don't know. You have a distinct advantage in hand to hand. I think I need a handicap."

His eyebrow ridge flicked upward as he sauntered closer to her. "I think you're still high on sand. Your biotics against my hand to hand. It should be fair enough," he challenged.

She flipped the front of his jacket. "I'm in workout clothes. You're in armor. Ditch the coat and vest," she ordered with a grin.

He ran his eyes over her body in a way that made her flush head to toe. "Should I take off the pants, too?" He slowly took off his jacket in a way that would have made a male stripper despair and quit work. When he turned to lay his jacket down, she couldn't keep her eyes off his perfect ass and the way the leather molded to it perfectly. His eyes were dark and intense as he stripped off his vest so that he stood half naked in front of her. His stance was different now. Still confident, but with an edge. There was a tension coiled inside him as he studied her. He was hunting, she realized. Something he did on missions, but he had never turned it on her, and oh god help her it was sexy as hell.

The ants on her skin had migrated into her stomach and turned into butterflies that were making her stomach flip flop, and the look in his eyes made her skin burn. She scrubbed palms that were suddenly damp against her shorts in a vain attempt to calm herself, but it didn't work. The restlessness was transforming into something else, a dark desire that pooled in her groin and turned her voice into a throaty whisper. She was glad the sand hadn't all worn off yet. She was going to need it. She drew herself up to her full height and tilted her chin up. "You're going to lose."

"I never fail my missions," he growled, and then he was on her. They were frequent sparring partners, but this was immediately different. Always before, there was an aura of concern about him, a deference to her position as his Commander even if they were sparring. They both knew he was better in hand-to-hand, and he had been helping to improve her skills and teach her new ones. She instinctively knew that this time he would give no quarter. This time, he didn't start off slow or allow her a chance to get ready. As a result, she backpedaled furiously to get away from him, but the scattered crates kept her from going too far.

"Come here," he ordered and reached for her arm.

"Make me," she goaded as she jumped lightly over the crate and slid along the wall.

Thane didn't follow as she expected. Shepard paused up against the wall and wondered what he was planning. It didn't take long to figure out. Dark energy wrapped around Thane's arm, and he flung a crate directly at Shepard. They were light, but she still didn't fancy deflecting one physically. Instead, she used her own biotics to shunt it to the side. Thane threw crate after crate at her, not giving her any time to do anything other than react. She was able to reflect a couple directly back at him, but most went to one side or the other. Thane's aim was off. The majority didn't even come directly at her, but were a foot or so to either side. Thane had blown through almost the entire stack between them before Shepard caught onto his tactic. The crates were piled up on either side of her, trapping her between them with Thane directly in front. As the last crate hurtled through the air toward her, she made a snap decision to go straight up. Only the cybernetic enhancements from Cerberus plus the Alliance gene mods allowed her to jump high enough to get over the crates. As she landed, she caught a look of surprise on Thane's face and flushed with a second of pride. It wasn't often she was able to outmaneuver the assassin. One second was all he allowed her before he chased around the crates.

She threw the stack of crates at him as she slid back along the wall. He nimbly dodged the crates and closed with her. For a couple of minutes, they traded blows in near silence with only the huff of breath or a grunt from a solidly landed punch sounding in the room. She mixed in biotic throws and reaves every chance she could to wear down his energy and slow his reaction times. In the back of her mind tickled the happy realization that she was much improved. A couple of months ago, she wouldn't have been able to hold her own against the assassin, but he was still better. Bit by bit, he was forcing her back into a corner. Every time she tried to get past him, he blocked her. She tried to leg sweep him, but he simply stepped back to avoid it, then closed before she could take advantage of the gap. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the walls closing in, and she was determined she wouldn't get caught. The only attack option remaining to her was a biotic throw to push him out of the way. The only problem was that Thane was equally aware of her limited options, and as soon as she pulled back for it, he leapt forward.

Shepard smiled grimly and switched attacks to a throat strike. She had never even activated her amp. Thane recognized the feint an instant too late and had to dodge awkwardly to the side. That pushed him off balance, and she took advantage of him to slide past, turning to deliver a knife edge strike to his temple. However, she underestimated how fast he could recover, and instead of landing a knock-out blow, she found her wrist captured in his grip. He turned her own momentum against her, slamming her into the metal bulkhead hard enough to stun her breathless. He quickly grabbed her other arm and twisted it behind her back, effectively immobilizing her.

"I'm impressed." His voice was a low, growly rasp that jolted through her ears and right into her nerves. "Especially the jump, but if you think you can get away from me, you are sadly mistaken, Shepard." He practically purred her name into her ear, emphasizing that for now, they were deadly opponents, and he would give no advantage to her as his siha and lover.

Thane pressed her into the wall with his body. She could feel the hard length of him through his leather. Her own workout gear provided absolutely zero protection except for modesty. He dragged his lips across her neck and fastened them on the most sensitive part just below her ear. He bit and sucked so hard that she knew she'd have a mark come tomorrow, but right now she didn't care. His rough kiss sent a shaft of molten metal through her body and made her wobbly in her knees. She moaned and tilted her head to give him better access to her neck.

Her assassin chuckled quietly, and when he spoke, there was a dark and taunting undertone to his voice. "Do you yield so easily, Shepard? One kiss and you're willing to do anything I say?"

It was like a bucket of cold water on her head. She hissed her displeasure and shifted her body to deny him access to her neck.

"A little late for that, isn't it? Your body betrays you." He let go of one wrist to wrap his hand around her breast, squeezing hard, but she was so keyed up that all it did was make her writhe back against him in desire.

"You want it as much as I do," she shot back.

"Of course I do. My body burns for you, but we're going to do this on my terms," he purred. He spun her around to face him and gave her a punishing kiss that stole her breath all over again. "I'll make a deal with you. I'll give you two more chances to beat me. Pin me, or make me yield, and I'll do as you wish. Fail, and you're mine. Are you up for the challenge?" His voice as well as his hands taunted her, stroking over highly sensitized skin.

"Anything goes?"

"Anything." The drawn-out way he answered implied he was thinking of the after part, when he could claim his victory.

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched, Thane."

He dropped his hands and gave her a slight push toward the center of the room. "I'll even give you a moment to collect yourself before we start again."

"Awfully cocky, Thane. You know, pride goeth before a fall."

"Actions speak louder than words, Shepard. Prepare yourself."

She did need a few seconds to calm down, but she wouldn't admit it to him. She only hoped he was as distracted by the heat and longing in his body as she was. With an effort, she called to mind Samara's lessons on centering oneself before combat. She ran through an asari sutra in her head, and the hours of practice paid off. She sank into a combat trance. Only this room existed, and in it, only she and Thane were relevant. He ceased to be her assassin, partner and lover, and became only the opponent with known strengths and weaknesses. Another deep breath and another sutra, and her feet melded to the floor drawing strength and grounding her. She pulled her energy into her center and then let her biotics expand out until she was wreathed in flickering blue energy, powered by red sand and far more than she could usually project. She thought she saw a flicker of uncertainty in her opponent's face, but then his features smoothed until no expression showed. He was the emotionless killer. She would be the fluid mirror that turned his actions back on him.

She waited with endless calm. She was no longer aware of the passage of time. When Thane moved, she was ready. His first attack was straightforward and easy to redirect; however, the assassin was a master of hand to hand, and he simply pivoted on his foot and came back with a kick directed at her midsection. Shepard deflected it with her hands and continued the motion up into a strike against the side of his neck. A slight intake of breath was the only indication on his part that she made a solid hit.

They traded blows back and forth. Shepard stuck with the softer asari style she had been practicing with Samara. Thane's hits were crushingly hard with his denser muscle mass, and it was much easier for her to deflect than to block outright. She loosened control of her biotics, allowing them to flare out and into Thane every time they touched. She deliberately pushed them into the same frequency as her reave attack, causing him physical pain at every touch, but Thane was too well trained for it to stop him even at the enhanced level she was projecting.

She saw the dark energy ripple around his hands as he prepared a throw attack against her. She wasn't yielding her position in the center of the room, so instead, she dropped to the floor just as he loosed his attack. The energy flickered through the air over her head. She scissored her legs around to kick him in the back of the thigh, but he danced out of the way. She immediately kipped to her feet; if sparring Thane Krios was difficult, grappling with him was impossible. If she let him take her to the floor, it would be over in seconds, and they both knew it.

They paused, reassessing each other. Shepard drew on the asari sutras again and planted her feet firmly to the floor. Thane watched her, eyes hooded and no expression on his face. This time, he led with a biotic throw attack and immediately followed up by closing in for a punishing flurry of punches. She was forced to dodge his biotics, but she kept returning to her spot. She had claimed this spot, she was the Commander, and she was determined to finally beat the assassin. Again and again she deflected his attacks with soft blocks, turning them around into short vicious jabs against his arms, ribs and head. Only a few actually penetrated his guard, but she knew from the solid way they connected and the force traveled up her arm that he would be feeling it just as much as she would wear bruises from his hits come morning.

For a change, Thane intermixed his biotics freely with his physical attacks. When she could, she attacked and forced him to abort his biotic attacks. It was always much harder to get off a biotic attack in close quarters combat. The nearness of your enemy made it difficult to get your body in position to trigger the appropriate physical mnemonics. She tried to throw her own biotic attacks, but he was too fast; she had to abort in favor of defense. Biotics were powerful but so damn slow, especially compared to the lightning fast drell facing her.

Shepard could feel herself tiring. The strain of blocking his punches and especially absorbing the occasional biotic that she couldn't dodge were wearing down her energy reserves. This was where long practice paid off. She kept any hint of pain or tiredness off her face and forced her weary muscles to keep moving at speed, while she looked for her opening. However, Thane wasn't giving her any.

Another flurry of quick punches and blocks flew between the duo, then quick as thought, Thane shunted away a finger stab aimed at his throat. Maybe she had neglected to put enough force and speed behind it because it was a potentially lethal strike. Maybe she was getting tired. In any case, Thane pushed her hand down, then wrapped his iron grip around her wrist so tightly she felt the bones creak. He twisted her wrist and before she knew it, she was face down on the floor with her arm being painfully twisted up behind her.

"Again you were too slow with your left hand, Shepard," he taunted her. "That's twice in a row. I suggest you try something else for your third and final attempt."

She struggled ineffectually against the pin, grunting when he twisted her arm further.

He placed his knee in the small of her back, and with his free hand, he traced up the back of her leg from knee to inner thigh. He kept her arm outstretched and thus held her effectively immobile while he teased her. Rough fingertips slid across the thin fabric of her exercise shorts, approaching that sensitive spot between her legs, but never doing more than barely grazing across it before sliding back down her other thigh and repeating. He leaned down to nip at her ear. "I like this pin," he growled. "Never before have I had reason to use it for pleasure, and such a pleasure it is. Would you agree, Shepard?" His fingers brushed harder across the warmth between her legs, eliciting an unwilling moan from her.

A cocktail of endorphins was racing through her body from the combat and Thane's equally intense teasing. Somehow she managed to make a coherent thought and get the words out without moaning again. "I still have one more shot, Krios. Let me up."

He laughed low in his throat. "I should make you say please."

That just triggered her instinct to fight back even harder. She was lusting after him so badly, but even as her body cried out for relief, her mind refused to give in, even if it was a mock combat with her lover. "Never," she growled. He still had his knee on her lower back, a mistake he would never make on a real battlefield, but he had let his guard down with her in this place. She had just enough leverage to bring both legs up and heel kick him solidly in the back. There was enough power in her kick to throw him off balance and push him over her head. She quickly twisted her arm free and jumped to her feet.

Shepard knew she would only have one more shot at taking Thane down, and she was rapidly running out of energy. She sprinted to the far side of the room behind a large stack of practice crates. Spinning on one foot, she called up her biotics and threw the whole stack of crates at Thane. The sand was still vibrating in her body, giving her biotics extra strength. One hit him solidly enough to knock him backward. Not taking time to acknowledge her good luck, she ran toward him and spread out her throw field in a totally new configuration. She had been practicing it, but never had a chance to try it in combat. Instead of throwing Thane back again in a single pulse of power, she thinned her throw field into a disk and pressed it down over the prone assassin, pinning him to the deck.

Grinning triumphantly, she straddled him. It was giving her an instant migraine to maintain her biotics in this strange configuration and was rapidly draining the extra power from the sand, but she didn't care. "Yield, Thane." It was an order, not a request.

The biotic field flickered between them. Thane's lips moved, but she couldn't hear what he said. "Do you yield?" she asked him again. His inner eyelid flickered rapidly and his lips moved again. Shepard suddenly realized he wasn't trying to speak. He was trying to breath.

In an instant, her elation drained from her body, leaving in its place a sick, cold dread. "Thane? Thane? Talk to me!"

His only reaction was to pound his fist into the deck plates as he tilted his head backward and continued to gasp for air. Shepard felt panic stirring deep in her gut. That crate must have hit him in the chest, and then like an idiot she had used her biotics to force his body into the floor, preventing his lungs from getting even the limited amount of oxygen they usually did. The dark energy between them flickered into nonexistence, and she reached down to shake his shoulders. "Thane! Thane!" she screamed at him. "Breathe!" Oh god, she had done this to him. She was going to be responsible for the death of her lover, and all for a stupid bet because she was angry. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as she assessed her options.

She opened her mouth to call for EDI when her world upended. One second she was leaning over Thane's prone body scared to death that she had killed him, and next she was on her back with the assassin straddling her hips and a very smug smile on his lips. "What the hell?" she said uncomprehending.

"Physical attacks are not the only means of combat, Shepard. Ruse and misdirection are equally valid methods of distracting and defeating an enemy."

"You...you were acting?" Her accusation came out high-pitched and strangled from disbelief. "You bastard! You cheated!" she hissed.

"You are angry because I defeated you through unconventional means. I do not desire your anger, but merely to illustrate other ways to end a fight. You must never let your guard down until you know your enemy is completely defeated. So, do you yield, Shepard?"

She was furious. Not only had he cheated, he had scared her to death, and then had the audacity to hold her down while looking at her with a very satisfied grin. "You were defeated," she growled. "You weren't even fucking breathing, you bastard. What was I supposed to do? Keep suffocating you? No, I beat you, Krios."

"Yet, you are the one lying helpless on the floor. You did say anything goes, my dearest Shepard." His voice practically purred her name as he rolled his hips against hers. He tightened his hands on her wrists where he held them to the floor over her head. "I give you credit though. You last attack was...creative. I have never seen a biotic field spread to such a configuration."

"Give me a moment, and I'll be glad to show you again," she threatened, but they both knew she had thoroughly exhausted her biotic reserves.

"I don't think so, Shepard. You lost. Pay up. Or do you refuse to honor your word?" he taunted her. "I can make it quite...enjoyable for you."

Shepard growled unintelligibly. Her lips pouted as she grated out, "I yield. You win."

"Do not look so disappointed," he rumbled as he leaned down to nip her earlobe. Keeping one hand on her wrists, he dropped the other one to stroke across her belly. The fine scales of his fingers glided across her sweat soaked skin. They stared into each other's eyes as his hand stroked back and forth, moving higher each time until he brushed the underside of her breasts. A slight hitch in her breath was the only sign she gave, still not taking her eyes off his. "I have such plans for you, Shepard."

"Then show me," she breathed.

He did. Her sports bra disappeared, only to end up twisted around her wrists and pinned to a latch on a nearby crate, effectively trapping her on the floor. Her shorts disappeared seconds later, leaving her bare beneath his hungry gaze. He displayed none of the tenderness he usually did, not that she minded. They were both far too worked up for anything slow and lingering. No, this would be hard, hot and fast. Fingers and teeth nipped and pinched all the sensitive parts of her body that he could reach causing her to arch against him. She hooked one leg around his, trying to pull him closer, but he slipped away easily.

He slid his free hand down her stomach into the soft, damp curls at her center. Of their own accord, her legs opened further, but he ignored her pointed invitation. Instead, his hand slid down one soft inner thigh and back up the other, skipping over the one place she most wanted him to touch. "Thane!" she groaned, refusing to ask for what she really wanted, but unable to keep silent any longer.

He knew what she wanted and abruptly slid his fused middle fingers deep insider her. Shepard let out a strangled cry of pleasure and relief and thrust herself up against his hand. He appeased her for a moment then withdrew his hand. He chuckled low and dark at her frustrated moan. "You are so going to pay for this, Krios," she threatened.

He bit her neck and licked to soothe it over. "You first, Shepard." Somewhere in there, his pants had disappeared. The rough texture of his scales against her slick and overheated skin felt divine, but it was only a prelude to what she wanted most. She knew he wouldn't wait long, not this time. Not when they were both so worked up.

She hissed and arched her back when he thrust into her. Her nerve endings felt like they were on fire. The vestiges of the red sand tickled through her nervous system, enhancing and magnifying every touch. Thane moved within her, deep and fast, driving harder than he ever had before. She felt the clenching deep inside that signaled the beginning of her climax, and she greedily reached after it. Arching against him, she tightened up around him, hearing him gasp with surprise and causing her to grin. In response, he dropped his head and fastened on the sensitive spot below her ear. Her entire body was alive and invested in this man who completely overwhelmed her.

Without warning, her climax crested and burst over her. Remnants of unfocused biotic energy flowed from her to him in a wash of sensations that added to the way her body clenched and held him tight. He groaned and stiffened over her as they fell together for what seemed an eternity before they finally relaxed. He lay heavily on top of her and nuzzled against her neck.

She finally worked her hands free and wrapped them around his back, trying to keep him as close as possible. "I'd say that took the edge off," she murmured with a soft laugh.

He stroked her side as he kissed her carefully. "For the moment," he allowed. "But I'm not done with you yet, Shepard." He smirked at her sudden, startled look. "You didn't specify a time limit."

She would have complained about drell and their eidetic memory and this particular one's annoying familiarity with contract clauses, but he didn't give her a chance to gather her thoughts that far. By the time they were through, she'd couldn't even muster up the energy to remember why she'd been mad in the first place.


End file.
